Bloom
by nekomamoru
Summary: AU. A mysterious wanderer with a hidden past. An accused maiden with mysterious eyes. When their paths cross, will love be enough to hold their bond together? NaruHina.
1. i

**A/N:** Been fiddling with this idea for awhile now so finally decided to just write it out. This story won't be long, only 5 chapters in total and I've written 3 of it already. Enjoy!

* * *

He first laid sight upon her in the season of fresh beginnings.

Sitting demurely beside the calm setting of a lake accompanied with the roaring of a waterfall cascading against the harsh path set by the rocks of the mountain, he watched her hands pick from the cluster of colourful florals blossoming around her. She treated each stalk with care as they bent and twisted along with the dance of her fingers, entangling them together to create a woven bracelet of intricate delicacy. A ray of a gleam of innocence shone down amidst the blanket of treetops, bestowing her with a heavenly aura that continued to enchant him the longer he looked at her.

Until she turned to face him with eyes so pale, they seemed soulless.

Winds of chatter rang through his mind, depicting a fable regarding a mysterious being shrouded in the darkness of the woods with terrifying eyes. Frightened voices spoke in disdain about this monster who made refuge in the terrains of the forest for years, awaiting for an opportunity to claim innocent lives should anyone encounter it. A ghastly demon who sent shivers with just the mention of its lethal gaze.

 ** _'I heard if you stare into its eyes for longer than 5 seconds, you'll go blind!'_**

 ** _'Whoever even dares to look at it will be cursed to never be able to walk again!'_**

 ** _'The Lord has already announced a reward for any brave soul who manages to capture this demon.'_**

 ** _'They say if you gauge its eyes out, you'll acquire the power to see everything!'_**

Warning after warning were passed between the villagers he had met during his last stop in a rural area, constantly reminding one another to never even set sight upon this monster that embodied intangible power.

Yet here he was too captivated to even look anywhere else.

For when he heard these tales of such a horrendous beast, he hadn't expected it to take form of an astounding beauty. How was it possible for one with a demeanour so gentle to even be associated with the word 'monster'? Could it be the devil managed to cloak behind a veil of an angel?

Whatever it was, he couldn't resist the alluring beckoning of her presence pulling him to come closer so he took a step forward.

She instantly took one back.

By the time he had reached the spot she had claimed, he could only watch the way her long dark tresses flowed along with the nimble pace of her feet scrambling further and further into the woods – unknowingly taking his heart along with her. He lowered his attention below and picked up the floral bracelet that had been within her grasp mere seconds ago. Clutching it between his own, he was left to ponder on whether destiny would allow them to cross paths once again.

Nearly a year passed since that fateful day.

Days, weeks, months flew with the wings of time yet each passing second failed to eradicate the haunting image of her mesmerizing eyes looking at him for that short moment. Eyes said to bequeath unexplainable curses to anyone that meets them but the only spell cast upon him after seeing such an exquisite sight was one where he would cross lands to see them again.

Hence why he found himself facing the same lake in the season of severe coldness.

The frosty climate brought a bleak alteration to the vibrant colourful view he remembered from all those months ago. The lake now hardened from the chilly breeze surrounding him resembled a fragile mirror facing the dusty grey of the sky with the waterfall transformed into stacks of icicles piercing downwards laid at the side. The light mist shrouding around hung like a wide curtain, limiting his vision from searching for the girl emblazoned in his mind.

Being a wanderer with years spent journeying across lands, his body had become impervious to the biting chill of the winter's gust yet a shiver trailed down as he stood directly at the spot he had last seen her. He recalled the indelible sight of misty irises he had hoped to be able to see as he recognized the familiar paths the forest encompassed.

Wisps of smoke escaped his lips when he heaved a sigh, his heart turning heavy from disappointment. His fingers gripped around the rod holding what little belongings he had, encased in a makeshift knapsack made of tattered cloth. He blew out the flimsy stick that had been between his gritted teeth, ruffling his blonde locks gingerly before turning to resume his journey once more.

Only to be stopped in his tracks by a threatening animosity lingering within his scope.

His hand instinctively moved to the handle of his sheathed katana, his pupils darting left and right. _Eight… no, ten. Two are still hiding in the mist. Man, how annoying._

"What do you bastards want?"

Emerging from the hidden confines of the fog, the bandits drew their own weapons with malicious grins spread across their lips and murderous intentions cloaking their stares. Naruto watched as they formed a circle around him, ensuring no possibility of escape with one of them taking a further step forward and his sword aimed directly at him. "Let's end this quickly. Drop your valuables and scram quietly if you wish to live."

Naruto slumped his shoulders and exaggerated his irritated expression with a scowl. "I'm not in the mood to entertain you small fries so I'll give you ten seconds to leave before things start getting real messy."

Another let out a snicker, the club in his hand slung casually over his shoulder. "Look at this fool trying to trick himself, thinking he got some chance or something."

"Ugh, enough waiting!" one of them snarled, raising his weapon and charged forward brazenly. "Let's get him!"

The sound of steel against iron resonated through the silent howling of winter as Naruto swiftly unsheathed his katana to deflect the imminent attack. Using his foot to kick the bandit away, he dropped his bindle and quickly dodged the barrage of weapons swinging left and right in hopes of landing a fatal hit.

His eyes were fast in catching the enemy's movements, his agile feet easily evading as well as performing various counterattacks till slowly the bandits began to fall in defeat, one by one. Naruto turned to face one of the remaining, the blunt side of his katana directed the same way. The enemy grimaced. "Fight like a man, you coward!"

Naruto smirked. "Who's the one coming at me in a pack like pathetic dogs instead of fighting me alone like a fearsome wolf?"

The man let out an enraged yell as he ran forth, sword ready to strike with an intent to kill. Naruto spread his feet apart, settling into a prepared stance. The bandit thrust his weapon ahead but in a split second, his sword was flung carelessly aside and his knees met the cold sensation of the snow beneath.

"You monster…" he mumbled at the blonde man looking down heartlessly at him before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Naruto sheathed back his katana into its scabbard once more, his azure orbs devoid of sympathy. "Takes one to know one."

He turned behind to face the slew of men scattered like flies surrounding him, all knocked out yet not even one inflicted with any fatal wounds. Grumbles of annoyance at his wandering being hindered yet again by the ill-willed, he walked to pick up his bindle when suddenly, his eyes widened and his body froze.

A numbing sensation burst through his abdomen with a feeling of something warm trickling slowly against his skin. He averted his attention to the source and was shocked to find an arrow pierced through his stomach. Falling to his knees with his opened mouth coughing out blood, he cursed himself in allowing such vulnerability for the perpetrators.

He saw the culprit disappear further into the darkness of the forest, jumping swiftly from tree to tree. Damn bastard probably was waiting for an opening all this time…

Quickly pulling out the arrow, he howled in pain as he noticed another substance gushing from his open wound besides his own blood. The reason why the sneaky attack had caused greater damage than he had presumed. Naruto cursed aloud as he threw the arrow aside in anger, his vision starting to falter as the poison began to seep in.

His hand pressed against the gaping wound in a futile attempt to stop the blood flowing, his legs wobbling as he tried to steady himself up. Need to get outta here… nngh, damn it!

He only made a few steps before he collapsed onto the cold ground, the stark red of his blood splattered vibrantly against the pure white canvas of the snow. His breathing began to come out in hard heaves, the poison taking full effect as he felt himself succumbing to the calling of darkness.

He heard the soft crunching of footsteps hurrying towards his direction, to which his hand tried to grasp his katana to fend himself but his fingers could barely wrap around the handle firmly. He raised his head, his entire body shaking in resistance to stay conscious yet he could feel his strength failing him the harder he struggled.

Then he saw them.

Pale eyes as white as the moon.

Before he could utter a word, it all turned black.


	2. ii

**A/N:** Thanks for the support given to this story so far. Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

* _"Ronin"_ is a japanese term to define a wanderer.

* * *

The faint crackling of a burning fire buzzed through his ears, strong enough to stir him awake from what had felt like an eternal slumber. A welcoming warmth traced the features of his face like a lover's gentle touch. He heard himself groan aloud as his eyelids fluttered, his vision slowly altered from the pitch darkness he had been kept in to a cloudy imagery of vague cracks decorating the stone ceiling he faced.

 _Where… am I?_

His body felt heavy, almost as if piled by the weight of a numbing sensation from laying in a static state for a long duration. His fingers felt powerless to even stretch so it took him a lot of will power to drive his body into a sitting position. He immediately let out a wince, his abdomen throbbing from the pain gnawing cruelly through the sheet of bandages wrapped around it.

A pungent smell seeped through the area of his wound, the familiar scent of medicinal herbs providing him slight comfort that his injuries had been tended to.

 _But by who?_

He glimpsed to his side, his orange robe could be seen neatly folded and placed on top of what seemed to be a makeshift table from a large crate with a tattered piece of cloth spread across. His katana laid aside his bindle that had been shifted to the side of the crate. Naruto drew out a relieved sigh knowing his belongings were well kept and within his reach.

His eyes began to wander aimlessly, strokes of pieces of what his mind could gather began to come together till a painted image of where he was laid before him. A cave so hollow and deep, the only source of light came from the gentle fire keeping his body heated. The eerie howl of a draft became the sole sound he could hear as he deduced there was no other presence in the cavern except him.

Naruto held his head, doing his best to calm his pulsing mind that thrived to recall the final sight he witnessed before he surrendered to the pensive beckoning of unconsciousness. The last memory he had was the concluding blow he dealt to the only man standing from the ambush he had encountered near the lakeside. Anything further from that point could only be refreshed in a blurry view.

His heart momentarily froze. _Wait, an ambush! Don't tell me…_

He forced himself up, ignoring the cries of agony that resonated through his body from his sudden movement and limped over to his katana. He quickly unsheathed it, his panic dimmed to ease at what he saw.

 _No traces of blood… thank God._

In a blink of an eye, his stance switched as he turned and pointed the sword at a person shrouding in the darkness, a soft exclamation could be heard from his instantaneous action. "Who's there?"

A frightened pause filled the tense ambiance before he caught a whisper of a voice telling him, "Please, don't move. You need to rest more."

If it weren't for their location primed for noises to easily bounce off the stoned walls and the echo aiding in amplifying her voice volumes louder, he would have barely heard anything. Her frightful intonation augmented her cautious actions as she remained hidden in the darker side, but her cowardice did nothing to waver his battle stand.

"I asked who you were," his stern tone reverberated across the enclosed space.

Her feet moved backwards a few steps. "A nobody."

Her reply pushed him slightly off his strained position. He felt his stance loosened from the harmless vibes she radiated but his fighting instincts refused to allow himself the leisure on bearing vulnerability so openly. Naruto tilted his head and squinted his eyes as he tried to envision the person's appearance but the bleak lighting of the cave only allowed so much.

He lowered his katana a little. "Come closer."

The harsh order only caused the silhouette of the person to cower away even further as though she was ready to flee the second he dared to move a step forward. "Please," her voice however became more noticeable. "Your wound will open back if you aren't too careful."

Naruto pressed lightly against the bandaged wound. "So you were the one who healed me?"

Her silence affirmed his presumption.

His hand rose again as his eyes bore a suspicious glare. "Why would you help me? Not only am I a stranger you've never met but I also wield a sword ready to kill."

She remained quiet as hesitation plagued but then he heard her faint reply, "Your weapon may be murderous yet your intentions say otherwise. A sword is merely a sword unless the wielder wishes for it to be more."

Naruto had not expected such an answer, intrigued by her calm response when he was still shoving his katana at her direction. "Has no one ever told you how dangerous it is to simply judge based on mere things like appearances? How sure are you I am not simply buying time before I kill you?"

He felt the atmosphere change as her silhouette began to approach and even with the dim lighting, he was still left floored by her appearance.

Her long tresses he had seen flowing like threads were now kept into a bun with her face framed by the pieces of hair she loosened in front. A beautiful white flower adorned her midnight locks well, almost similar to the ones he had witnessed her crafting them into a bracelet that now resided safely in his belongings. Her voluptuous figure hidden away behind a simple lilac kimono showed her youthful stature and completed the drawing of a fair maiden.

Her misty eyes that hinted at intricate secrets were gazing shyly at him.

"I am both blessed and cursed with eyes that may see too much for its own good."

Her footsteps inched closer and closer towards him despite his katana still brazenly faced her way. As she made her way nearer, he caught sight of her hands holding a basket that was filled with an assortment of food with a jug of water. He watched her place them on the floor a foot away from him, his wary eyes never leaving hers as his mind became befuddled by her every move.

"Help yourself. You need to regain your energy should you wish for your wound to heal faster," and with that, she turned to leave. He only lowered his weapon when she had disappeared from his line of vision completely, grimacing as he obeyed his body's demand to sit down from straining his ached muscles too much.

He felt befuddled by the mystery placed before him. Was this young woman really the fearful demon she is accused of? How preposterous! There is no monster in existence that held compassion for another life enough to go out of their way to heal said person. The term 'demon' itself harboured a lethal and dark connotation so the only reason people would presume she was even close to such a definition would be if they had never seen her themselves.

For if they did, they probably would be left breathless as he was.

So many questions piled up in his mind. Why did she choose to remain in the comfort of solitude and silence when she could try and clear her name from the murky title of a monster? Why did she say such things about her eyes? Where did she come from? Does she have family? Friends? A lover?

Then his attention drew to his katana.

… _I have no time to be meddling in her affairs. I shouldn't even be here. It's too dangerous._

He pierced the ground beneath with his weapon to ease his body up but the wound pushed him back to his knees, a hiss of pain escaped his lips as his injury made it clear that he would have to restrain himself for a few days. Naruto cursed to himself, wallowing in self-pity on how such a simple mistake had cost his journey on a short hold. Yet he knew he could not afford such leniency. A wanderer wanders for a reason.

And his reason will prove hazardous for both him and the young maiden should he stay with her for too long.

 _A few days, nngh, I just need a few days more._

His mind ingrained the idea that he would have to extend his rest here solely to allow his injury to heal but his heart couldn't help but flutter knowing he would be able to see the girl with enchanting eyes longer.

* * *

Like a rapid current of a stream, a week had passed.

Naruto found himself completely smitten.

How could he not? There were no other words to describe her other than angelic. The past couple of days had been filled with a daily regimen of her tentatively caring for his wounds along with ensuring he received the best care she could provide, what with her living conditions restraining her from doing more.

He could not deny the disappointment he felt noticing his injury losing the ache and merely leaving behind a minuscule scar.

By the faint glow of the fire, he watched her closely as she gently checked his wound for a final time. The light heat of the cloth she used to dab on the scar portrayed the warm tenderness of her touch that had nursed him back to health. Her cheeks donned a fair shade of red with her eyes avoiding his the longer he fixated his gaze on her. Naruto was too transfixed to bother about boundaries. These moments when she was only inches away from his sight bore prime opportunities for him to further appreciate her beauty that could not be compared.

"The wound seems to have healed well," her words slurred as though saddened. "You shouldn't feel any more pain after this."

As she began wrapping clean bandages around his abdomen, he felt his heart sink. Her words though chosen to not mention, they still hazed over the notion that this meant he should be leaving soon. He would need to leave _her_. His mind fell into a distraught as he realized how heavy his body felt knowing he would soon be apart from this perplexing lady with secrets he still had not unravelled.

Not even her name.

"What is your name?" The abrupt question even surprising himself as she mirrored his own shock. Her fingers stopped momentarily from wrapping around his waist and the close proximity between them allowed him to notice her blush deepening.

"They call me the white-eyed monster."

"What they say matters not to me," Naruto said with slight irritation at that word being associated with her. "What is _your_ name?"

A small smile curved her lips, her hands resumed in bandaging him up. "Hinata. Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hinata," he repeated, enunciating each syllable with a certain sense of familiarity. The more it echoed in his mind, the more a painful throb of déjà vu seemed to tingle. He couldn't pinpoint the reason, for he was certain he knew no one with the same name as hers yet a nagging voice refused to let it slip so easily.

"Isn't it customary for you to respond with yours?" Her tone holding a hint of mockery as her smile grew.

Naruto laughed. "Polite conventions do not apply to wanderers such as myself. Petty things such as names do not matter when we set our lives to constantly roam."

Her fingers tied up the ends of the bandage tightly and lingered for a second. "Then… would you mind me asking something else, Ronin-san?"

Naruto could feel his breath hitch from the way their glances locked. "What is it?"

"Are you...," a halt in her words when her eyes trailed to the side where his katana laid. From her cautious stance and the slight tremble of her body, he understood instantly.

"A murderer?" he continued for her, the daunting phrase stirring a painful memory to arouse.

 _ **You murderer!**_

"No," came her swift response, her fingers clenched around each other. "Running away?"

He felt taken aback by her question, unsure on whether she even understood the connotations of her words. He had not expected her to strike so close to the truth till he feared she probably knew more than she had let on. He stood up immediately and walked over to where his orange robe laid.

"If you fear that you're housing a criminal, don't worry," he said, slinging the robe over his body. "I plan to leave as soon as I can."

"Please, that is not what I meant," Hinata replied with a hurried tone. "It's just that… nobody ever comes to this forest."

His fingers paused from tying the obi around his waist, noticing the underlying warning she had placed beneath her cautionary words. A subtle teaser to a story of utter loneliness and separation from a society that had deemed her a monstrosity based on a fable they conjured on their own. He felt his feet wanting to anchor down and stay with her so they could rewrite the tale somehow.

But his katana served as a constant reminder on why he walked his own path of solitude.

"A wanderer never asks for the destination, he follows the navigation of the wind instead," he said, placing the scabbard in the hold of his obi as he picked up his bindle.

Hinata stood up with her eyes downcast, a forlorn expression marred her face. "Then the wind made a mistake in bringing you here."

Naruto walked towards her, a grin on his lips as she looked at him astonished. "No, for once, I think it didn't." He held out his hand to her and in his hold was the flower bracelet she had tinkered with a year ago. The memoir he had carried with him in hopes he could return it to her personally one day. She seemed surprised that it was under his possession, her eyes glancing at him befuddled.

"I believe this is yours."

Her hands hesitantly moved towards his but instead of taking the accessory, she enclosed it back into his palm. "Keep it, a token from me as a charm for good luck in your travels."

Naruto gripped it tightly as he asked the only thing on his mind. "Then may I use this as an excuse to come see you again?"

The smile she wore radiated her beauty even more.

"I'll be waiting."


End file.
